Iraq Business News brings you the latest Iraq banking & finance news, with information on developments and opportunities.
Azzaman news agency reports that the Iraqi Central Bank’s budget forecast for 2012 is based on and oil price of $80 per barrel. Muatasem Akram, a consultant with the bank, said the forecast was reasonable, though much below the 2012 forecasts for oil prices on international markets. He acknowledged the bank’s budgetary estimates for oil […]
Foreign investors’ appetite for Iraq’s stock market is rising before planned IPOs by the country’s three mobile telephone operators, but the fledgling market’s small size means it may struggle to cope with the listings, according to a report from Gulf News. The Iraq Stock Exchange (ISX) is an outpost of private sector business in Iraq, […]
The World Bank’s investment arm plans to pump about $800 million into Iraq’s energy and banking industries over the next three years to help boost development in the private sector, a senior official said on Wednesday. Reuters reports that Rashad Kaldany, vice president of the International Finance Corporation, said between $300 million and $500 million […]
The Iraq banking industry is poised to take a huge step forward as outside investors partner with established private banks and possibly create new ones through consolidation. In this latest free report from IraqiXchange, Ahmad Saleh presents a detailed analysis of the sector. Please click here to download the report.
Iraq’s gross domestic product growth is expected to rise by 9 percent in 2012, up from around 6 percent in 2011, mainly driven by an expected increase in oil production and exports, reports Al Arabiya TV. Mudher Kasim, a deputy governor of Iraq’s Central Bank, told Reuters in an interview, “it will easily jump to […]
We get many enquiries at Iraq Business News relating to the future of the Iraqi dinar (IQD), for example: Will the Iraqi dinar increase in value? Will the currency be re-denominated, dropping the 'three zeros'? Is it wise to buy Iraqi dinar? Firstly, Iraq Business News is not in a position to give investment advice. […]
Iraq's core annual inflation (which excludes expenditure on fuel) increased from 7.1 percent in July to 7.6 percent in August, according to Reuters, driven mainly by higher prices of food and clothes over the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Central Bank Deputy Governor, Mudher Kasim, told the agency that the higher price of gold in […]
By T. Keyzom Ngodup, co-founder and Executive Director at Ideas sYnergy www.ideas-sYnergy.net, an Iraq based private sector development consulting company. IRAQ INSIGHTS, published by Ideas sYnergy aims to consolidate and build intellectual capital on private sector development, empowering stakeholders to address issues of access and structural reforms on a diverse range of topics impacting inclusive […]
The Colorado Securities Commission has ordered a company promoting speculation in Iraqi dinars, and its director, to stop soliciting investors in Colorado. The commission entered a cease-and-desist order on Thursday against AmIraq Fund LLP, general manager BB&M International Corp, and William Burbank, who serves as CEO and managing director of both companies. The order prohibits them […]
Iraq’s 12 microfinance institutions in cooperation with the USAID-Tijara Provincial Economic Growth Program are holding an Inclusive Financial Services Stakeholders Conference in Erbil on October 3 and 4. The theme of this year’s microfinance event will be “Transforming Inclusive Financial Services for Increasing Outreach”. The conference will bring together leaders from 12 microfinance institutions (MFIs) […]
As part of its expansion plans across Iraqi provinces, and in an effort to offer premium banking services and facilities to its corporate clients, Capital Bank announced the opening of its first National Bank of Iraq (NBIRQ) branch in Erbil. Through its acquisition of a controlling 72% share in the National Bank of Iraq (NBIRQ), […]
A new World Bank report released today, Republic of Iraq Financial Sector Review, highlights that while reforms are ongoing in the financial sector, the country needs to push further to ensure that a system still characterized by state-domination and lack of transparency reaches its full potential. The report stresses the critical importance of the financial […]
